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Sunday, April 20, 2014

This Good Friday

There are four cans of
liquid nutritional supplement on the steps. And a beautiful long apparently
cashmere coat that I drape over the scaffolding railing. By afternoon, all
these items are gone .

Geoffrey comes in early,
stakes out a space in the back of the sanctuary. Goes to sleep. Earlier Martin
had called to say that Soli had seen him downstairs near the restrooms. Yes, that
happens. He’s respectful and harmless, though eccentric. Geoffrey, that is.

Karen is playing her
music in the sanctuary whenJean comes
in with her work crew of kids from Sacramento, all intheir familiar Presbyterian Disaster Relief
t-shirts. They are young. They’ve been working all week rebuilding homes in the
Rockaways. RDA is building six. The total needed is 27,000.

Jean and the Sacramento PDA workgroup

I tell the crew the
history of the church. It’s struggles. It’s witness. Ending with the ceramic
baptismal font cover Dan’s mom Sheryl made. Occupy Wall Street over Tiffany
Victoriana. The contractor Don has special interest in the architectural
history and is eying things carefully, making mental notes.

They head off to Central
Park while I try and get ready for Easter. Danielle places a beautiful cable
knit sweater and a straw hat on the steps. Soon, only the hat is left. Late in
the day, I decide to head down to the Gate to give RL a head’s up about the
kids. But I run into the crew. Jeanie says that she already saw him. So I join
them at Caesar’s for pizza. And Don has ideas for a work group to come work on
West-Park.

After dinner, they just
have a little while to chill before Dzieci’s
A Passion. As this is the day we commemorate the passion of Christ, the timing is right. The play begins. It’s
evening dark this time. Some blocking has been changed since last week. But again,
I’m drawn into their story. I’m watching closely, wantingto understand how it works. It’s like a
community gathered for ritual. One that has happened over and again. Perhaps at
a scheduled time every year. Familiar and yet new.Trading well known, familiar rolesaround. And in the midst of telling thestory, it becomes real and present and we are
in the midst of it as a real time reality.

As the dance to a lively
Hinay ma tov reaches its peak, they are inviting audience membersto join in. One does. It’s former Dzieci
Isis, back for this performance in a dance she knows so well with old friends.
Hinay ma tov…

It’s that song that will bring
us back together after the scroll has been left, tied up as in a burial shroud
but at the same time an object of respect and veneration. And we all go out
together. Later, in conversation, Jean will say, I have never been so moved by
a passion and Matt says, Let me take that down. Rev. Jean from Sacramento? And
Jean is immediately trying to figure out how to get them to Sacramento. Somewhere in there we notice Geoffrey is still here.

The Dzieci want to talk
with the kids. And this is where things start to go awry. They are already in
the chapel where Open Mic is getting ready to begin. So there’s a moment of
confusion and then the Dzieci thank the kids and exit.

A couple of the kids are
planning on performing. RL opens. Then Dion with his good hearted stand up.
Then a female comedian announces she wants to work hard. Or let’s say blue. And
awkward uncertainty sets in until Jean decides to lead them all out. In the
hall, they encounter Joel and Jean

A hug with Joel

persuades him to do an impromptu improve.
Which he does.

Then they are out the
door.One of the kids brings a message
that the blue comedian is done and please come back. Just for one song. Jean
hesitates a minute but has already made her exit s the crew is on their way to
the subway and back to Jamaica.

Halfway down the block, I
want to run after them and yell come back, come back. I think I know what RL
has in mind. Another 10 minutes won’t matter. Opportunities come once and
vanish. For every second chance I’ve had there’s an equal number of never to
come agains. You never know. By the time I think this through, they’re an
avenue block away.

I’m kicking myself for
not having insisted when RL steps outside. I’m sorry, I say. I am too, he says.
And then, you’re out of practice. I look at him, a question on my face. …. dealing with rational people, he says. And I appreciate that.Trying to make me feel better. But I’m going to brood on this awhile. So I’m lost in my head while the comedian’s boyfriend
Chris lays down a solid electric guitar set which RL compares to Duane Eddy.
And I barely notice another stand up guy who seems to be off in his own stream
of consciousness without a paddle.

Chris plays a mean guitar solo

But I snap out of it in the
middle of Joel’s performance when he enters into a riff on his encounter with Jean
and the crew and he just lays me out. He weaves his emotions about their work, their
faces. Luckily, his videographer friend caught the performance. It sort of
healed the night for me. Sort of.

By the time I came on, we
were down to close friends and associates. So RL decides to take a different approach
to stay awhile. Kind of slow, reflective. And that’s how it ends.